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When Barry answered the knocking at his door, he was face to face with a woman who introduced herself and said she was a social worker from the state of Washington. He invited her in and was immediately handed a photograph that the woman pulled from a manila folder.
“Do you know this woman?” She then made her way to sit on the couch, where Barry joined her.
“Yes, that’s Chloe Bowman. We dated briefly in college before she transferred to a school closer to home. Why? Is she in trouble?”
“I’m sorry to inform you that Ms. Bowman passed away in a car accident last week.”
Barry’s face fell, “Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that. She was a sweet girl.” He frowned a bit more, “Why are you here?”
The social worker, Mrs. Trimpleton, cleared her throat briefly then folded her hands in her lap as if she was preparing herself. “Well, Mr. Allen, Ms. Bowman has a daughter. You are the girl’s father.”
Barry sat in stunned silence for a few moments while Mrs. Trimpleton waited patiently for any kind of response. Finally, he slowly forced some words out. “I’m her father. I’m… her father?”
“Yes, Sir. She’s four years old, and her name is Charlotte, but she goes by Charlie.” She reached into the folder and handed Barry a picture of the little girl.
He melted when he saw her. Barry couldn’t deny the fact that this girl was his. His own green eyes looked back at him from the photo in his hand. She had her mother’s dark, bouncy, curls, and dimples, though her smile reminded him of one that he had seen in his own childhood photos. He smiled, “She’s adorable.”
Mrs. Trimpleton smiled back, “She is. Smart as a whip, too. She knows about you. Ms. Bowman didn’t keep who her father was a secret from her. In fact, there is a framed photo of you and her mother in Charlie’s bedroom. She calls you ‘Daddy’.”
“I don’t understand.”
Instead of explaining, she continued on with the more urgent information, “Ms. Bowman doesn’t have any family left that could care for Charlie. She has no siblings, her mother has been gone for a couple of years, and her father is in a home with early onset dementia. Charlie is temporarily staying with Ms. Bowman’s best friend, Ms. Michaels. However, you are named as the father on Charlie’s birth certificate. If you would like custody of her, you would have every right. If not, then she would go into the foster care system and Ms. Michaels will try to adopt her.”
Barry was shaking his head the instant Mrs. Trimpleton said ‘foster care’, “No, no. I don’t want to fight Ms. Michaels, but there’s no way I would abandon my daughter. I want her.” He couldn’t imagine knowing he had a daughter and not having her with him.
Mrs. Trimpleton smiled kindly, “Good. I’ve done my research on you, so after a proper inspection, I’m sure things will work in your favor. Ms. Michaels won’t fight you on this. She says Ms. Bowman never had a bad word to say about you to her, and she’s very willing to let you take your daughter without a fight. She did tell me to tell you that she wants visiting rights.”
Barry smiled, “Any friend of Chloe’s is a friend of mine. She’d be welcome here any time.”
“I wish all of my clients were as easy as you two.”
“I can imagine. So how is this going to work? Do I fly to Seattle to get her?”
“Ms. Michaels would be willing to bring her here to you. I think it would be a better transition for Charlie.”
Barry nodded, “Yeah, that would be fine. When can I expect them?”
“If all goes well with the inspection,” she glanced around, “which I’m sure it will, then…in a couple of weeks. I’ll make all of the arrangements, then email them to you when they’re ready. Congratulations on becoming a father, Mr. Allen.”
He smiled wide, although there was a nervous flip in his stomach, “Thank you for all of your help with this, Mrs. Trimpleton.”
“My pleasure.”
Once the case worker left, Barry sat in silence, mind racing. There was so much to think about and so much to do.
He couldn’t believe Chloe had never told him that she was pregnant, but understood that she was scared. She had been an undergrad student, only a sophomore, while he was a graduate school student. She was pretty, sweet, and funny. Barry really enjoyed spending time with her. He was surprised one day when she said she was moving back home, but she had always missed her family, so he said he understood.
Barry spent the weekend searching for a two bedroom apartment and breaking the news to his family and friends. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.
“You’re really going to take her?”
“What kind of question is that, Joe? Of course I’m going to take her! She’s my daughter!”
Joe waved his hands, “I didn’t mean for it to sound like that. Of course you are. I guess I’m just shocked about this whole situation.”
“Me too,” Barry nodded. “I spoke with Jess, Chloe’s best friend who is keeping Charlie right now. She helped me understand things that Mrs. Trimpleton didn’t give me a chance to really ask about. She said that when Chloe found out she was pregnant, she freaked out and came running home. She ended up not transferring to WSU, but took a job as a receptionist for a local dentist instead.
“Jess thinks that Chloe had stronger feelings for me than she had originally realized, and that she felt guilty for keeping the pregnancy from me. She had plans to introduce me to Charlie eventually, but it just never happened. She told Charlie about me as much as she could, just to keep a connection of sorts. There’s even pictures of me in Charlie’s bedroom and she calls me ‘Daddy’.”
Iris nodded, “It’ll be nice to know that you won’t be a complete stranger to her once she gets here.”
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I told Captain Singh about her and he agreed to let me take the week off at work. I’m signing a lease on a two bedroom apartment this afternoon. Jess told me that Charlie loves unicorns and suggested some bedding that she had seen at Macy’s. I’m going to go buy all of that, some furniture, and toys, and set it up tomorrow. So, Cisco, no calls unless it’s an emergency.”
Iris bounced and pleadingly asked, “Can I go shopping with you? Please?”
“Say yes, Barr,” Eddie said. “You know she’ll go without you if you don’t.”
Barry chuckled, “Of course.”
“So about the emergencies thing. What are you going to do when that happens? Who’s going to watch her? Maybe you should move back in with me, Barr.”
“Joe, I appreciate that very much. But I really think we’re going to need time to bond and get to know each other. I’m going to need to only do Big Bad meta emergencies as the Flash. She comes first. Iris, our apartment isn’t far from yours and Eddie’s. I was hoping I could give you a key and you could come watch her during emergencies.”
“Of course. I would love that.”
“Okay,” Cisco nodded. “We can do this. Frost and I will help spread the in-field workload a little more evenly.”
“Thanks, guys.”
Over the next couple of days, Barry moved into the new apartment and set everything up. Iris was impressed with the place. It was a secure building that needed a key card to enter unless you were buzzed in by a resident. The lobby was clean and newer looking, as were the halls. The apartment itself was pretty big for a two bedroom, and had all newer appliances.
“You sure you can afford this place?”
“I’m a billionaire now, Iris.”
“Oh yeah. I tend to forget about that. You certainly don’t act or spend like one.”
“There’s nothing I really need or want. Besides, I want the money available for the labs, too. I plan on doing a lot with it.”
Iris helped him decorate the place, and they both took special care with Charlie’s room. When it was finished, he took a picture and texted it to Jess.
From Barry:
What do you think? Will she like it?”
From Jess:
She’ll love it.
“What did she say?” Iris asked.
“She thinks she’ll love it. I spoke to her yesterday again. Charlie isn’t talking much since Chloe died. I think I’m going to find a psychologist she can talk to. Maybe the Firefly Foundation. They helped me when I was little.”
“That’s a great idea. I know you’ll pour enough love into Charlie as you possibly can, and she’ll feel at home here soon. You’re going to be a great dad, Barr. You already are.”
“Thanks, Iris.”
Jess and Barry decided that it would be best for Barry to first meet his daughter in their new home, and not at the airport. So, that meant he had to wait, quite impatiently, for them to arrive. He had already gone for a run around the city a few times over, trying to ease this nervous energy. Now that it was close to their expected arrival time, he simply paced behind the couch, ringing his hands as he went. It was an excruciatingly long wait for a speedster.
When the buzzer sounded, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He rushed at a normal human speed to the intercom, “Hello?”
“Hi, Barry, it’s Jess and Charlie.”
“Come on up!”
When the knock at the door finally came, Barry opened it while holding his breath. He immediately looked down at his daughter. Charlie’s big green eyes were looking up at him as she held onto Jess with one hand, and had a framed photo of Barry and Chloe in the other.
He smiled wide and stepped aside for them to enter, “Hi Charlie.” He squatted down to be at her level, “It’s so nice to finally meet you.”
Jess squatted down too, “Charlie? Are you going to say ‘hello’?”
Charlie didn’t say anything, but she let go of Jess’ hand and took a step towards Barry. She placed her hand on his cheek, then looked down at the framed photo in her other hand. When she looked back up at him, she smiled a little and quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging tight.
Tears came to his eyes and he hugged her back. He glanced at Jess for the first time over his daughter’s shoulder. She was crying with a hand over her mouth, trying to quiet the sobs. That made his own tears spill over.
“I can’t even describe how amazing it is to finally meet you and be able to hug you, Charlie.”
“Daddy,” she whispered.
He squeezed his eyes tight and dropped back onto his butt, pulling her with him into his lap as he went. They held each other tight as Jess sat with them on the floor.
Barry was finally able to pull himself together enough to look at Jess. She was a pretty red head and had a kind aura to her, much like Chloe. He could just picture the two of them laughing and having a good time together. He cleared his throat a bit, “Thank you so much for taking care of her, and for bringing her home to me. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. I’m so grateful Charlie had someone when she needed them.”
Jess nodded, “You’re quite welcome. I hope you know, I’ll be visiting often.”
Barry smiled, “Any time.”
After moving to the couch and talking for a bit, Barry gave them a tour of the apartment. Charlie loved her room, which Barry was thrilled about. “My sister helped me decorate it. She’s really looking forward to meeting you. All of my family is. You’re already so loved.”
Later that night he read Charlie three books before she finally started to fall asleep. He kissed her on the forehead and made his way back to the living room. He and Jess talked for a bit longer before she decided to call it a night. They had agreed she would stay one night, then leave the next day. He gave her his bed, while he took the couch.
Saying goodbye to Jess the next day was hard on Charlie, but she made it though okay. There were lots of promises for FaceTime and visits.
When she was gone, Barry had Charlie help him fix lunch as a distraction. They made sandwiches together and he taught her an easy way to spread her mayonnaise. She smiled proudly, and hummed when she took her first bite. Barry was pretty sure she loved food as much as he did.
Things went pretty well after that. Over the next week, Barry slowly introduced her to his family and friends. He didn’t want to overwhelm her with everyone at once. She and Iris got along great, Joe was already spoiling her, and he was already planning on talking to Cisco about not giving her too much of his candy.
Barry had enrolled her in a preschool down the street from their new apartment, so when he had to go back to work, he took her there in the morning. When he left her there, it felt like a stabbing pain in his heart. He wanted to stay home with her so badly. They were having a good time together and getting to know each other pretty quickly. He worried about her all day.
“She’ll be fine, Barr. Most parents are working parents. She’s going to socialize, make new friends, and learn. It’ll be good for her.” Joe tried to reassure him when he saw his son come into work all mopey after dropping her off.
And it was good for her. She loved school and had an appetite for learning that reminded everyone of Barry. She became a little more talkative after that. Not much, but a little. Her therapy sessions were going well, and things were looking good for them both.
One evening in early Autumn, Leonard Snart was taking the shortcut through the park back to his apartment. It was a cool night and the park was pretty much empty. He loved peaceful, quiet walks like this, and was hopeful the nice Autumn weather would hold out and Winter would wait its turn. Not that he didn’t love the cold.
He was walking the path next to the playground when a sound caught his attention. He heard dirt, rocks, and mulch being kicked up as something was running, but also the heavy breathing that was almost a snarl. He jerked around and saw a large dog with purple glowing eyes running full speed. It’s eyes were laser focused, and it was headed straight for a little girl.
Len was only a few feet from her, so he quickly grabbed her, hoisting her up as far as he could, out of the dog’s reach with only a second to spare. But in that split second, Barry Allen, dressed in normal street wear, was standing between him and the dog.
Barry backhanded the animal, sending it flying. It got back up, growling as it ran back to attack again, but Barry was ready, punching it again, always keeping himself between Len, the girl, and the dog.
Meanwhile, the girl in Len’s arms was crying. She called for her daddy, but when Len looked around, he didn’t see anyone else.
The second time Barry had punched the dog, it was knocked out. He turned back around toward Charlie so fast that the world had slowed down around him. He noticed the man’s hand on Charlie’s back, holding her steady and protectively. He noticed the twist of his body, keeping her as shielded as possible while still able to be aware of the dog's location, then he noticed the man’s face. He was wearing a baseball hat, but those gorgeous blue eyes were unmistakable. Barry was glad that he was in the speed force at the moment so that Snart didn’t notice the surprise that was surely written all over his face.
While still in the speed force, he dialed Cisco then held his phone between his ear and shoulder. Time returned to normal speed and he held out two hands. Charlie instantly leaned for him, so Leonard shifted her into Barry’s arms and watched curiously as the girl wrapped herself around him like an octopus and settled her crying a little bit more as her head rested on Barry’s free shoulder. Barry was rubbing her back soothingly.
“It’s okay, Sweetie. The bad doggie is asleep now.”
Cisco answered, “What’s up?”
“I need you to breach into the Alderman Park at the playground. There’s a meta dog I need you to breach to the pipeline asap. It tried to get Charlie.”
“On my way.”
When he hung up, Barry put his phone in his pocket and spoke to Charlie again, “You okay, Sweetie?” She nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Cisco was there nearly immediately. He ran to Charlie and ran his hand through her curls, “You okay, Kiddo?” He looked at Barry, “Do we need Caitlin?”
Barry answered, “She wasn’t hurt. Get that thing to the pipeline before it wakes up. We’ll figure out what’s going on with it tomorrow. I need to get her settled down and in bed.”
Cisco nodded, then noticed Leonard. His eyes became huge, “Uhh…” he pointed to Leonard, then to Barry and Charlie, then back to Leonard.
Barry rolled his eyes, “Go.”
“Okay, man.” Cisco picked up the large dog with a grunt, then stepped into another breach and was gone.
Barry shifted Charlie to his other hip and wiped away her tears, “Hey. You’re okay, Sweetie. This nice man saved you. This is my…friend, Leonard.”
He looked at Leonard who was just standing there watching with an unreadable expression. When Charlie looked at him, it all came together. This was Barry’s kid. Those eyes. It had to be true. But why did he not learn about her when he had done all of his research on Barry Allen?
Barry took a deep breath and steeled himself, “Leonard, this is my daughter, Charlie.”
Leonard looked at Barry, “Well, aren’t you full of surprises.” He looked at Charlie, “It’s very nice to meet you, young lady. You and your daddy can both call me Len.”
She didn’t say anything back as she continued to hold onto her dad.
Barry looked at Snart, “She’s pretty quiet. She’s been through a lot lately. Thank you for saving her back there. By the time I saw the dog…”
“No problem, Scarlet. I’ll be on my way. You two have a good night.” He gave a curt nod and started walking down the path.
Barry watched for a moment, then began walking the same direction. “Where are you headed?”
Len turned around and waited for him to catch up before answering, “Home. You?”
“Home.”
“This way?”
“Yeah.”
“You know, you could just…run along.”
Barry huffed out a small laugh at the pun, “She doesn’t know.”
“Huh.”
They walked in comfortable silence, though Len was trying hard to figure out how he didn’t know about Charlie. He glanced at her and smiled a little. “Looks like all that excitement wore her out.” She was sound asleep.
“I’m not surprised. That wore me out too. It’s not exactly the kind of adrenaline rush I like.” The emotion of having his daughter in harms way was more draining than if he had fought for a much longer period of time.
“I can imagine.” He was silent for a few moments, but then had to ask, “You know I did my research on you, Scarlet. How come I didn’t read anything about her?”
“I didn’t even know about her until about six months ago. Her mom and I dated in college. When she found out she was pregnant, she moved home to Seattle. She never told me about her. Anyway, she passed away and had named me as the father on Charlie’s birth certificate. I took her as soon as I found out. We did all the tests and made all of it official in the eyes of the law. I- I don’t know why I’m telling you all of this.”
“Because I asked?”
“Still.” Taking another deep breath, Barry pushed on, “Look, I can’t keep her a secret from the world or wrapped in a bubble like I’d like to sometimes, but I don’t want the wrong people finding out about her. I have a lot of enemies at both of my jobs. I need you to keep your mouth shut about her.”
“Scarlet, I would never do anything to endanger a child. Including yours. Your secret is safe with me. I think you know I can keep a secret since I never told anyone about your second job.”
“Thank you.” Barry knew, deep down, that Leonard wouldn’t tell. He didn’t know why he would trust someone who’s lied to him, but he knew he could.
“So is this why the city has seen less of the Scarlet Speedster, and more of Vibe and Frost?”
“Yeah. I mean, not only can I not always leave her right away, but I don’t want to. Being her dad is more important. So unless a Big Bad that can’t be handled without me shows up, then I try to stay out of it. If she’s with someone else, I might patrol, but otherwise, it’s just me and her.” Barry frowned, “Don’t use that info to your advantage. God, why do I keep talking to you!?”
Len chuckled low in his chest and Barry found he really enjoyed the sound.
“Haven’t you noticed a lack of Captain Cold lately?”
“I have, actually. Why is that?”
He shrugged, “I don’t know. I’m playing the game differently these days.” He wasn’t going to tell Barry that the last time he shot him, it was a total accident and it shook him more than it should have.
“How are you playing the game if you're not out there being the world class thief that you are?”
“Aww, that’s sweet, Scarlet,” he smiled. “I’m selling my world class plans. I get to do the thinking and planning that I love so much, and someone else gets to take the risks.”
“But where’s the adrenaline rush in that?”
“Are you trying to talk me into stealing, Scarlet?”
Barry chuckled this time, “No, no. I like this turn of events.”
“Well, so far, so good.” He stopped and gestured to the building they were approaching, “Well this is me.”
“Shut up.”
He frowned and smirked at the same time, “Excuse me?”
Barry’s eyes were wide and he was looking between Leonard and the building, “You don’t live here.”
“It’s been home for the past three years. It’s a nice building, and the safehouses are just too dirty and dingy to live in full time. I worked hard for what I have and I might as well spend it.”
“You didn’t work for what you have. You stole it.”
“Six of one, half dozen of the other,” he shrugged. “It was a lot of work to plan and execute.”
Barry rolled his eyes, “Well, then, after you.” He motioned for Leonard to lead the way.
Leonard raised his brows, “You’re hot and all, Barry, but we haven’t even been on a first date. Don’t you think it’s a little too soon to be inviting yourself up?”
“What!?” Barry sputtered, blushing slightly. “No. I… we …live here too.”
Leonard was silent for a moment, just staring like he did at the park, “No way.”
“Yeah.” Worry washed over him all the sudden, and he can’t quite understand why it wasn’t until now that he felt this way, “So now that you know where your nemesis lives, and the easiest way to hurt him, I’m thinking we’ll be moving out soon. Like tomorrow.”
Barry started to walk past Len, but Leonard grabbed his arm. Once Barry stopped, Len dropped his hand. His tone was serious, and slightly hurt, “I would never hurt her, nor would I ever let anyone or anything else do so either.”
Barry looked him in the eyes and slowly nodded. “I’m counting on that. Do not disappoint me.”
It turned out that, much to the shock and dismay of both men, they lived on the same floor, right across from each other. When Barry shifted Charlie in his arms so that he could unlock the door, Leonard stopped and spoke quietly, “Scarlet… If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
Barry nodded and looked at Len as he pushed open the door. “Thanks again for saving her tonight. I really do appreciate it.”
Leonard looked at the sleeping girl. Her curls fell over her face slightly and her cheek was pressed against Barry’s shoulder, gently squishing her lips into a pout. He smiled softly, nodded his acknowledgement and walked away.
Barry had put Charlie to bed about five minutes prior to when there was a knock on the door the next night. He had been cleaning up the toys in the living room, and paused at the sound. When he heard the soft knocking again, he looked through the peep hole to see Leonard standing there. He took a deep breath and opened the door.
Len didn’t give him a chance to say anything before he held up several plastic bags full of boxes. When Barry just looked confused, Len held them up a little higher.
“Take them. Please.”
Barry wasn’t sure he had ever heard that tone from Leonard before. He seemed…conflicted. Or slightly embarrassed? Shy? He couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“What is it?”
“A security system. For your door and for all of the windows. I’m assuming you have the same number of windows that I do.” Given the location of Len’s apartment, the answer was probably ‘yes’.
Barry took the bags and looked inside. He looked back up to find Len walking back to his apartment. He frowned, “Wait. Why?”
Len sighed and turned back around. He took a couple steps closer to Barry and spoke in hushed tones, “Because I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said last night. About people finding out about her and hurting her because of either one of your jobs. The thought…” He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, “If it can be prevented, or dissuaded, with some tech, then why not?”
Barry pulled one of the bigger boxes out and looked at it, “Len, this isn’t just ‘some tech’. This is top of the line, state of the art.”
“I didn’t steal it,” he spat defensively.
Barry shook his head, “I didn’t think you did. Thank you. This was really thoughtful.” He smiled, “I told you there was good in you.”
Len rolled his eyes and turned back to his apartment, shutting the door without saying a word.